Low temperature record broken

Temperatures reached a record low on Haida Gwaii during last month’s cold snap. The evening of Jan. 18, temperatures dropped to -16 degrees, beating the previous low set Nov. 26, 1985, when temperatures sank to -15.5.”Essentially around that time there was a huge arctic ridge of high pressure,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald, “and flow from the interior of the province brought cold air streaming out to Haida Gwaii.”The unusual cold weather caused problems all over the islands, as homes and buildings suffered frozen and burst pipes, broken lines and water shortages.Good news though, said Mr. MacDonald: “For now, this cold weather pattern is over. We’re back to normal seasonal weather pattern.”The information collected by Environment Canada is from the weather station in Sandspit and doesn’t necessarily speak to temperatures on the rest of the islands. Former Tlell weather observer John Davies said that his records, from the time when weather information was collected on Doug Leach’s property in Tlell, show a record low of -16.7 degrees on Dec. 3, 1970.